This blog is an attempt to preserve, document & share Pakistan's contemporary & traditional culinary heritage. It tells stories and shares recipes from my maternal grand mother and mother's kitchens along with my own stories and memories of growing up in Pakistan.

Sunday, 26 May 2013

In my part of the world every celebration is accompanied with a dessert. Be it a wedding, an engagement, a birth, a promotion, a graduation,
purchase of a house or a new car or festival of Eid, our happy moments are incomplete without sharing of the traditional desserts or Mithais with our friends and family. And nothing is more loved on such occasions
than the humble Gulab Jamans. It is one of my favorite Pakistani dessert.

In Pakistan, Gulab Jaman - a methai (sweets) is never
made at home. Specialized methai makers called halwayees make these treasured
and celebrated sweets. So while celebrating, one always buys these sweets from the best halwayee (methai maker) in town. My favorite methai maker
has been Nirala sweets since as long as I can remember. No one makes better
methai than them. I had to learn how to make Gulab Jamans at home after moving away from
Pakistan as I could not buy them in market anymore.

I am sharing the recipe that has knowledge assimilation
from various resources. Pakistan has just gone through a historic election and I am celebrating hope for a better Pakistan. Insha Allah – God Willing. Here
is the recipe.

Ingredients:

For Dough;

Powdered Milk – ½ cup

Yogurt – 2 tbsp

Flour: 2 tbsp

Butter – 1 tbsp (melted)

Baking soda – ¼ tsp

For sugar syrup:

Sugar – 1 cup

Water – 2 cups

Saffron - 5-6 strands

Rose water – 4 tbsp (I am using Khevra water as I was out of
rose water)

Step 3: Fry the dough. Make small (Maltesers sized) balls
of the dough with partially wet fingers. Make sure the dough balls have no
cracks on the surface. This dough is enough to make 15 balls.

Step 4 : Frying. Deep fry the dough balls on medium to high heat.
They should fry gently and become golden brown. Too hot oil will turn them
brown from outside but will leave them uncooked from inside. Be careful with
the heat.

Phase 5 : Add Rose water to the warm sugar syrup. Now add the fried dough balls to the warm sugar syrup.
Mix and cover. I usually make the gulab jamans overnight and let them soak up
sugar syrup through the night. They taste heavenly in the morning. I decided to roll them in dried coconut, but they can be served with or without dried coconut.

Wednesday, 15 May 2013

In Pakistan aubergines - Baingan (in Urdu) are available only in peak summer season. May be thats why unconsciously i have always associated baingan
bharta with Pakistan’s peak summer. The word Bharta in Urdu means Mashed. Essentially roasted aubergines are mashed and spiced in this recipe. Bharta was served at lunch with hot
chappati - flat bread and salty lassi drink which would automatically put you in a nap mood. The long summer days and intense heat in Pakistan would make everyone lazy and sleepy after lunch. A dark corner or an air conditioned room was all that one needed after lunch. Ammi would slowly char the round purple aubergines on her gas stove over open flame. The whole house would smell of it. I roast the aubergines in my oven as i don't have an open flame stove. The result is pretty close to ammi's version except the intense smoky smell open flame charring adds to the vegetable. Here is to the
memory of Long Pakistani summers, the open flame cooking, being home for
lunch every day and afternoon naps in little cool corners.

Roast the whole aubergines in an oven for 45 mins at 180
degrees. Put them in water for 5 mins while hot. It will loosen the skin and
make the flesh easily removable from the skin. Open the aubergine with your hand & scoop the cooked flesh with a spoon. See the
photos. Any Turkish grocer will have
roasted aubergines sold in a bottle. You can use those as well.

In a pan heat the oil. Add cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds,whole red chilies and cook for about a minute on medium to high heat. Let them crackle.

Add chopped onions and saute for another minute. Do not brown them.

Now add chopped tomatoes and cook for 3-5 mins. Add a splash
of water to loosen the tomatoes.